Hedge trimmer



2 sheets-sheet J.`

March 24, 1942. w. L. DAvls HEDGE TRIMMER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 20, .1940

Patented Mar. 24, 1942 HEDGE TRIMMER 9 Claims.

This invention relates to hedge cutters and more particularly to an electrically operated cutter.

An object of this invention is to provide a cutter of this type which can be used for horizontal or vertical cutting.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved connection between the power member and the cutter so that the power member will be relieved of undue strain caused by. cutting of heavy twigs or branches.

A further object of this invention is to provide a cutter of this type which includes means for collecting the cuttings as the cutter moves over the hedge so that the trimmed portion of the hedge will be smooth and clean.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an improved means for holding the cutting blades in sliding contact with each other.

To the foregoing objects and to others which g may hereinafter appear, the invention consists of the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts as will be more specifically referred to and illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein are shown embodiments of the invention, but it is to be understood that changes, variations and modifications may be resorted to which fall within the scope of the invention as claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure lis a detail top plan partly broken away of a hedge trimmer constructed according to an embodiment of this invention, certain parts of the device being removed.

Figure 2 is a detail front elevation of the device.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure l.

Figure e is a detail top plan partly broken away of the device in assembled condition.

Figure 5 is a detail front elevationV partly broken away and in section of the device.

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional View taken on the line 5 6 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional View taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 4.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary perspective View of the combined guard and cuttings guide.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral I0 designates an elongated supporting plate or bar 'on which an elongated stationary cutter bar extension II is secured. The stationary cutter bar extension II extends forwardly beyond the forward end of the supporting bar I0 and is provided with stationary cutting teeth I2 which extend from the body I3 of the stationary cutter bar. An electric motor I4 has the base I5 thereof secured as by fastening devices I to the supporting member II] and the cutter bar extension II, the base I5 of the motor II! being preferably secured at one end to the cutter bar extension II and the supporting bar Ill, so that the major portion of the motor I4 will be disposed in laterally projecting relation with respect to the cutter bar extension II.

The motor I4 has a grooved driving pulley I1 secured to the shaft I8 thereof and an endless belt I9 is trained about the driving pulley I1.

A driven pulley 2i! which is substantially larger.

in diameter than the driving pulley I1 is mounted on one end of a crank shaft 2l. The crank shaft ZI is journalled in a pair of bearings 22 and 23, the offset portion 24 of theV crank shaft being positioned between the two bearings 22 and 23. The bearing 22 is secured by fastening devices 25 to the extension II and the bearing 23 is secured to the extension II by fastening y devices 26.

A movable cutter bar 21 is slidingly disposed on the upper surface of the stationary cutter bar formed by the body I3 and the teeth I2 and preferably the movable cutter bar 21 is provided with a plurality of elongated slots 28 through which tensioning bolts 29 engage. The tensioning bolts 29 are extended through openings 3U provided in the body I3 and the movable cutter member 21 is tensioned relative to the body I3 by means of a spring 3| which engages about each tensioning bolt 29 and is interposed between nuts 32 and the upper face of the cutter 21.

A washer 33 is interposed between the lower end of the spring 3| of the upper face of the cutter 21. The supporting member I0 at its forward end is provided with a pair of opposed substantially L-shaped guide members 34 which engage over the upper inner end of the movable cutter 21 so as to slidingly guide the movable cutter 21 as it is reciprocated back and forth by the motor I4. An upstanding head 35 which has formed integral therewith a right angularly disposed base 36 is secured to the inner end of the movable cutter 21 by fastening devices 31. One end of a pitman 38 is pivotally secured to the head 35 by means of a pivot member 39 and the opposite end of the pitman 33 is pivotally mounted on the offset 24 of the crank 2l.

In order to provide a means whereby the tWo cutter members I3 and 21 may be braced against longitudinal bending, I have provided an upstanding post it which is provided with a flattened right angularly disposed base 4|. 'Ihe base 4I is secured by a fastening device 42 to the stationary cutter body I3 on the rear side of the teeth I2. The post 40 is provided at its upper end with a right angularly disposed handle 43 and one end of a bracing bar 44 engages through the handle 43. The other or forward end of the bracing member 44 is secured to a U-shaped guide member 45 which has one leg 46 thereof engaging beneath the stationary cutter member I3 and is fixed thereto by a fastening device 41.

The other or upper leg 48 of the guide member 45 engages over the upper surface of the movable cutter 21 at the rear edge thereof. The inner end portion of the bracing member 44 is provided with threads 49 and a pair of nuts 58V are threaded onto the inner end portion of the bracing member 44 and engage on opposite sides of the handle 43. A second bracing member I is secured as at 52 to the bearing member 22 and a turnbuckle 53 is threaded onto the outer end of the bracing member 5| and is also threaded onto the threads 49 of the bracing member 44. The two bracing members 44 and 5I com prise a truss structure by means of which the two cutter members I3 and 21 may be braced against longitudinal bending.

The motor I4 is connected to a suitable source of electric current supply by a double wire conduit 54 and preferably a switch 55 is interposed in the conduit 54. The switch 55 is mounted on a U-shaped handle 56 which is secured as at 51 to the rear end of the base I5 of the motor I4 and the other end of the handle 56 is secured as at 58 to the underside of the supporting member I0.

In order to provide a means for yieldably holding the two blade members I3 and 21 together, I have provided a plurality of longitudinally spaced apart U-shaped clips or blade tensioning members 59. The U-shaped blade tensioning clips 59 engage over the rear edges of the blades I3 and 21 and extend forwardly. An elongated connecting bar 60 is secured in the bight 6| of the clips 59 and is positioned longitudinally of the rear edges of the blades I3 and 21. One leg 62 of each clip 59 slidingly engages the upper surface of the movable blade 21 and the other or lower leg 63 of each clip 59 is provided with a detent 64 which engages in a recess 65 formed in the under surface of the stationary blade member I3.

In order to provide a means whereby the cuttings of the blades I3 and 21 may be removed from the upper surface of the hedge as the device is moved therealong, I have provided an endless belt 66 which has the lower run 61 thereof disposed in substantial alignment with the upper surface of the movable cutter 21. 'I'he belt or conveyor 66 is trained about a driving pulley or drum 68 which is mounted on a crank shaft extension 69 extending rearwardly from the offset 24.

The belt 66 is also trained about an idler pulley which is mounted on a stationary shaft 1I. The stationary shaft 1| is disposed at the forward ends of the blades I3 and 21 and is supported in upwardly offset relation with respect thereto by means of a base plate 12 which is provided with a right angularly disposed and vertically extending arm 13 which is formed integral with the base 12 and with the stationary shaft 1I. The idling pulley 16 may be retained on the stationary shaft 1| by means of collars 14 and which are xed to the shaft 1| at opposite ends of the pulley or drum 1I). The base 12 is provided with a pair of elongated slots 16 through which fastening members 11 engage. The fastening members 11 with the slots 16 provide a means whereby the belt 66 may be maintained in the desired taut relation so that the lower run 61 thereof will not sag.

A belt cleaning rake or plow member 18 which is substantially L-shaped in transverse section is disposed in contacting relation with the upper surface of the lower run 61 of the belt and is positioned closely adjacent the driving pulley or drum 68. The belt cleaning member 18 is disposed on an obtuse angle to the length of the belt 66 and is secured by fastening devices 19 to the upper surface blade extension II. A pair of rearwardly extending bag supporting arms and 8| are secured by fastening devices 82 and 83 to the supporting member I8 on the underside thereof and the arm 88 is provided with a pair of hooks 84 which are adapted to be engaged in a bag or receiver 85.

The arm 8| is provided with a pair of hooksk 86 which are adapted to be engaged with the bag so that the open mouth of the bag 85 will underlie the rear portion of the belt 66 in a position to receive the cuttings as they are taken off of the lower run 61. The upper run 81 of the belt 66 is adapted to engage any large branches or twigs which do not fall between the two runs of the belt and is adapted to carry lthese branches or twigs in the opposite direction from the smaller cuttings which engage the lower run 61.

In order to provide a means whereby the cuttings may be guided onto the lower run 61 of the belt, I have provided an elongated guide member 88 which is disposed with the upper surface thereof substantially flush with the upper surface of the movable blade 21. The guard or guide member 88 overlies the upper surface of the lower run 81 of the conveyor belt and the forward end of the guard or guide member 81 is provided with a right angularly disposed extension 89. The extension 89 is adapted to engage between the connecting bar 60 and the rear edges of the two blades I3 and 21 and a forwardly disposed extension 90 extends from the lower edge of the vertical extension 89 and is adapted to be secured beneath the heads of the blade tensioning bolts 29.

The guide member 88 is provided with openings 9| through which the legs 62 and 63 of the clips 59 are adapted to project. Each clip or blade tensioning member 59 has an enlarged head 92 which is integral with the upper leg 62 so as to thereby provide a large contacting surface for engagement with the movable cutting blade 21.

In order to provide a means whereby the device hereinbefore described may be supported from the shoulders of the user, I have provided a flexible shoulder strap 93 which is adapted to be secured at one end to the base of the motor I4 and may be secured at the other end to one 0f the fastening members 26.

In the use and operation of this device, the motor I4 is adapted to be connected to a. source of electric current supply and where it is desired to out the upper horizontal portion of a hedge, the blade members I3 and 21 are disposed in the desired position over the top of the hedge. The operation of the motor I4 will reciprocate the movable blade 21 so that the cutting teeth 94 thereof will coact with the teeth I2 of the lower blade I3 in cutting the branches or twigs forming the top of the hedge.

As the crank shaft 2| rotates, the lower run of the belt 66 will move toward the inner end of the device and the cuttings from the top of the hedge will pass over the guard member 88 and be drawn inwardly toward the driving pulley B8. The plow or rake I8 will force the cuttings rearwardly into the open mouth of the bag 85 which is supported from the bag supporting arms 80 and 8l. The larger branches which are out by the cutting blades will move in the opposite direction and will drop over the far edge of the hedge. With a device of this kind, the top of the hedge will be maintained in a clean condition rearwardly of the cutting blades so that it will not be necessary to rake the top of the hedge in order to remove the cuttings.

By providing a flexible connection in the form of an endless flexible belt I9 between the motor i4 and the driven member 20, in the event any relatively thick branches are engaged by the cutting blades, the strain on the cutting blades caused by such thick branches will be absorbed by the belt I9 which will permit a slight slippage between the driving pulley l1 and the driven pulley 2D.

When it is desired to use the device hereinbefore described for cutting the opposite vertical sides of a'hedge, the belt 66 may be removed and the bag 85 may also be removed from the hooks 84 and 85. However, it is not essential that the belt 66 be removed as if desired, this may be left on the device when cutting the vertical faces of the hedge. During the cutting of the hedge, one hand of the operator may be engaged with the handle 56 and the other hand of the operator engaged with the handle 43 which overlies the cutting blades. In this manner the blades may be firmly held in the desired cutting position with the weight of the motor I4 and the inner end of the device being substantially borne by the shoulder strap 93.

What I claim is:

1. A hedge trimmer comprising a pair of cutters, means for reciprocating one of said cutters, a plurality of U-shaped cutter tensioning clips each having the bight thereof disposed at the rear edges of said cutters, one leg of each clip slidingly engaging the upper surface of said one cutter and the other leg of each clip engaging the under surface of the other cutter, said other cutter having a plurality of recesses therein and each other leg of a clip having a detent engageable in a recess, and a connecting bar Xed to the bights of said clips.

2. A hedge trimmer comprising a stationary cutter, a reciprocal cutter, means for reciprocating said reciprocal cutter, a collector, means supporting said collector at one end of said cutters, an endless means for conveying the cuttings in the direction of said collector including Van upper and a lower run, a guard means for the cuttings overlapping a part of said lower run, and means for discharging the cuttings from said conveyor from oir said lower run into said collector.

3. A hedge trimmer comprising a stationary cutter, a movable cutter, means for moving said movable cutter relative to said stationary cutter and means for tensioning said cutters relative to each other, said tensioning means including a plurality of U-shaped resilient clips adapted to yieldably hold said cutters therebetween, said clips and one of said cutters including correlated means for holding said clips against movement.

4. A hedge trimmer comprising a stationary cutter, a reciprocal cutter, means for reciprocating said reciprocal cutter, a collector, means supporting said collector at one end of said cutters, means for conveying the cuttings in the vdirection of said collector, a guide iiXed to said stationary cutter and overlapping one run of said conveying means for guiding the cuttings from said cutters toward said conveying means,'and a stationary rake engageable with one run of said conveying means for discharging the cuttings into said co1- lector.

5. A hedge trimmer comprising a stationary Cutter, a reciprocal cutter, means for reciprocating said reciprocal cutter, and means for bracing said cutters against bending, said bracing means comprising a vertically disposed post fixed to said stationary cutter, a pair of bracing rods, means securing an inner end of one rod to said stationary cutter adjacent the inner end thereof, a U- shaped member disposed adjacent the outer ends of said cutters, and having the parallel legs thereof overlapping said cutters, means securing one leg of said U-shaped member to said stationary cutter, means securing the outer end of the other of said rods to the other leg of said U-shaped member, means securing the inner portion of said other rod to said post adjacent the upper end thereof, and a turnbuckle connecting the adjacent ends of said rods together.

6. A hedge trimmer comprising a pair of cutter members, an extension carried by one of said members, a reinforcing bar xed to said eXtension, a pair of L-shaped guide members carried by said bar disposed in overlapping relation with respect to the other of said cutter members, said other cutter member having a plurality of elongated openings therethrough, tensioning members engaging through said openings and xed relative to said one member, truss means holding said cutter members against longitudinal bending, and means for reciprocating the other of said cutter members.

7. A hedge trimmer comprising a pair of cutter members, an extension carried by one of said members, a reinforcing bar iiXed to said extension, a pair of IL-shaped guide members carried by said bar disposed in overlapping relation with respect to the other of said cutter members, said other cutter member having a plurality of elongated openings therethrough, tensioning members engaging through said openings and Xed relative to said one member, truss means holding said cutter members against longitudinal bending, means for reciprocating the other of said cutter members, a plurality of U-shaped cutter member tensioning members, and means extending along the rear edges of said cutter members connecting said U-shaped tensioning members together.

8. A hedge trimmer comprising a pair of superposed cutters, an extension carried by one of said cutters, a supporting bar fixed to said extension, said extension and supporting bar adapted to support a driving means, an endless conveyor means supported rearwardly of said cutters with one run thereof coplanar with the uppermost of said cutters, means connecting said conveyor with said driving means, a stationary guard member for the cuttings having a part arranged below the other of said cutters and a part substantially flush with the upper face of the reciprocatory cutter and overlying the forward marginal portion of the upper surface of said one run of the conveyor, and means xedto said extension and engaging said one run of said conveyor for raking the cuttings therefrom.

flush with the upper face of the reciprocatory cutter and overlying the forward marginal portion of the upper surface of said one run of the conveyor, means fixed to said extension and engaging said one run of said conveyor for raking the cuttings therefrom, a receiver for the cuttings, and means dependingly supporting said receiver in a position to receive the cuttings from said raking means.

WILLIAM LAWRENCE DAVIS. 

